How can I render an HTML view while constructing a JSON response in Rails?

Question

I have a controller method that returns JSON. But sometimes part of that JSON object should include a rendered, serialized HTML view. So my controller method has a line like this:

html = render_to_string :partial => 'foo/bar'
# ...
render json: {x: 'y', html: html}

But that fails because Rails is only looking for JSON views!

ActionView::MissingTemplate (Missing partial foo/bar with {:locale=>[:en], :formats=>[:json], :handlers=>[:erb, :builder, :coffee, :slim, :haml]}. […]

How can I solve this?

Update: I have gotten one "level" of layout to render_to_string as html using the below syntax, but the same error persists when that layout renders its own partials!

html = render_to_string :partial => "foo/bar.html.haml"

Surely there’s a solution here, right?

Update 2: render_to_string :action => 'method_in_this_controller' seems to be doing the trick.

try: html = render_to_string :partial => 'foo/bar', :formats=>[:html] — Yanhao
– Yanhao, Commented Oct 19, 2012 at 7:56
Thanks for the suggestion! I may be doing it wrong, but that doesn't seem to do the trick. — Alan H.
– Alan H., Commented Oct 19, 2012 at 8:11
Would it be good to make 2 request? one for the html if needed, and after that the json? Single purpose is always good. May take a few more lines of code and an extra ajax call. But who knows. Just my 2cents. — Phu Phan
– Phu Phan, Commented Oct 19, 2012 at 17:51
A good suggestion, Phu Phan; but since this will be used in a mobile app, it makes sense to avoid needless extra HTTP requests. I don’t understand why this is so difficult; surely it’s a common-enough use case, right? — Alan H.
– Alan H., Commented Oct 19, 2012 at 19:08

mhlester · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-27 18:48:00Z

2

Repeating Yanhao's answer because I ran into this exact problem and its what worked for me.

try:

html = render_to_string :partial => 'foo/bar', :formats=>[:html]

edited Feb 27, 2014 at 18:48

mhlester

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answered Feb 27, 2014 at 18:27

anthony

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Comments

oivoodoo · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-19 07:43:01Z

0

I am writing something like that in my action:

def show
  ...
  respond_to do |format|
    format.js { render :json => data }
  end
end

May be it will help you.

answered Oct 19, 2012 at 7:43

oivoodoo

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1 Comment

Alan H. Over a year ago

Where are you rendering a template to HTML within your method?

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:19:09Z

0

Are you sure you have a file 'apps/views/foo/_bar.*'? I was able to render HTML as a JSON parameter with How do I render a partial to a string?

respond_to do |format|
   format.html { redirect_to post_path(post) }
   format.js { 
     render json: { 
       error: flash[:error],
       content: (render_to_string partial: '/comments/comment', locals: {comment: comment}, layout: false )  
     } 
   }
end

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:19

CommunityBot

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answered Dec 24, 2013 at 8:12

Chloe

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